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  • Tag: German Road Trip

    • Berlin, Germany

      Posted at 2:00 PM by Brittany, on December 27, 2019

      Call me crazy, but I wasn’t overly eager to visit Berlin. I knew I wanted to see some of the historical aspects related to the war, but as my regular readers will know I am not a big fan of large cities. When trying to figure out a place to visit in November (I travel somewhere at least once a month) I felt like doing something “easy” and decided to do a German road trip.

      I chose Berlin as the end destination because it was a city I felt I “should” see, and because it’s in northern Germany. I’ve only explored south Germany, and I wanted to see more of the north. Berlin ended up being a lovely city, with endless character and years of history.

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      On a wall at the train station.

      We arrived at our Air B & B the evening after exploring Bamberg, and I was so happy with the neighborhood we chose. It was clearly a wealthy neighborhood, and our host was so kind. We stayed there for three nights. The apartment was a 20 min walk to the train station, which we used the two days we spent in the city. There was no way I was driving into the city, I learned my lesson in Rome. 

      We decided to buy a 48 hr pass for a hop on hop off bus to maximize our time and hit all the main sights. Berlin is HUGE, and this was a simple way to get around. The first place we hopped off was at the Topography of Terror museum. This museum was the original location of the Nazi SS headquarters, and some of the bricks of the original building are still in tact. I could literally feel the history here, and it was wild.

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      The inside of this museum depicts the history of the war from beginning to end, and the outside has the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall in the center of Berlin.

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      From the museum, we walked down the street a bit to find Checkpoint Charlie. From 1961 to the German re-unification in 1990, Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous border crossing during the Cold War period. It was located at the very center of the geopolitical conflict between East and West.

      It was a slightly ironic sight to see the U.S. checkpoint now leading to a street with KFC and McDonalds.

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      From here we hopped back on the bus and headed towards the Brandenburg Gate. The Brandenburg Gate has become the defining symbol of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The gate came to be a gateway into a unified Germany and Europe.

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      Next to the gate was the parliament building, which is self explanatory. We spent all of five minutes here to see it, snap a pic, snap a pic of a random stranger, and then we moved onto the next.

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      From here we walked to the Holocaust Mahnmal, or “The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.” I saw photos of this memorial years ago, and had wanted to visit ever since. The monument covers 19,000 square meters, and consists of 2711 concrete blocks, all dedicated to Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust.

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      When I first heard about this monument, it was after reading an article about tourists who were taking inappropriate photos surrounding the blocks. The article had original photos of selfies, yoga poses, jugglers (seriously??!), etc… which were then photoshopped with backdrops of what happened during the holocaust. The photoshopped project was titled “Yolocaust.”

      Sounds aggressive, but I love what he did.

      These blocks are not a playground for tourists, they are a symbol of something horrific. If you want to read more about the man who created the “Yolocaust” read this BBC article. Point being – selfies and yoga poses and fun photos with your friends at a place like this, or like this, or like this are never appropriate. Period.

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      After the memorial visit we briefly wandered Tiergarten, a large park in the center of Berlin where I took the above photo. Statues of three composures wrapped around the center structure – I remember Mozart, but forgot the other two. We ended our first day with a visit to KaDeWe, one of the worlds largest department stores.

      I wanted to see the inside, despite the fact that I am not a big shopper. We went to the very top of the building and sat in the food area by a window watching the city fall asleep below.

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      Day two in Berlin was dedicated to East Berlin, specifically to see the East Side Gallery. Immediately after the wall came down, 118 artists from 21 countries began painting the East Side Gallery, and it officially opened as an open air gallery on 28 September 1990. Just over a year later, it was given protected memorial status.

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      The above photos were a few of my favorites, as well as two of the most famous paintings. First the ‘fraternal kiss’ by Dmitri Vrubel depicting a kiss between communist leaders Leonid Brezhev (soviet) and Erich Honecker (East German president.) This painting is titled My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love, and is based off of a real photo.

      The other famous painting is by Birgit Kinder, showing a Trabant car breaking through the Berlin Wall. This is symbolic of the former East Germany and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. The painting is a nod both to this popular car and to the many East Germans who tried to escape over the Berlin Wall.

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      It took about two hours to slowly wander the East Side Gallery, and after we finished we went to see a few more places in the central part of Berlin. First up was the Berliner Dom, likely one of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen. I didn’t go inside, which I regret, but the exterior is amazing. Even with the current renovation.

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      The church is in an area of Berlin called “museum island” which is a fitting name. There are a myriad of museums here likely to tickle the fancy of just about anyone. I don’t usually enjoy museums, so I just wandered the exterior. However, one spot in this area that I did want to see was Bebelplatz.

      On 10 May 1933, members of the Nazi German Student Union and their professors burnt books as part of a nationwide action “against the un-German spirit”. This book burning took place at Bebelplatz, and the below plaque is now placed as a memorial of the books that were burned.

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      The final thing we wanted to do in Berlin was find somewhere to get a view of the city. We chose the most touristy option and we decided to take a ride up the TV Tower. We had purchased a city pass, giving us a discount for the ride and it ended up only being around $13 to go up the tower.

      We spent about 30 minutes at the top to watch the sunset over the city, and it gave me bigggg Space Needle Vibes. 

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      Berlin surprised me in many ways, and my only regret was arriving one week too early. Around the city we saw many locations setting up for their Christmas markets, but sadly we left before they opened. We did get to go to one tiny market, where I enjoyed a bowl of goulash and gasped at the elevated price of a schneeball.

      One final part of Berlin I adored…Berlin bears. 

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      Q: What would have been your top place to visit of all the places I listed?

      brittany

      | 21 Comments Tagged Berlin, Brittanys Life Abroad, German Road Trip, Germany
    • Rothenburg ob der Tauber

      Posted at 2:00 PM by Brittany, on December 20, 2019

      Before I moved to Germany I didn’t have much of a mental picture about the country. I knew the Germans liked to eat pretzels, bratwurst, and sauerkraut, but I didn’t know much about the landscape or the architectural design of the buildings. Where I live in Bavaria, it’s common to find houses with paintings on the side depicting a story of craftsmen from long ago.

      When I knew I was going to be spending some time living in Germany, I did a quick Google search for basic images, and the image that stuck with me the most was of beautifully striated houses in a town called Rothenburg ob der Tauber, or Rothenburg for short. I had no idea where Rothenburg was, nor did I ever think I would visit, but I finally made my way to this adorable medieval city and I loved every moment of my visit.

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      Rothenburg is most known for its walled in city, striated houses, and picturesque photo opportunities. The entryway into the city is one of the most photographed spots in the entire city, and for good reason. I made it to the city before anyone came to life, and was able to snap a photo of this spot without any humans in my way.

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      The clouds quickly lifted and the sun came out providing a beautiful color to the adorable houses. My roommate Laura and I embarked on a German road trip last month, and Rothenburg was our first stop. She had been, but I hadn’t so we split up for a couple hours to explore at our own pace. Before we separated, we visited the Käthe Wohlfahrt mothership. The headquarters for this mega shop is in Rothenburg, and this was my first time stepping inside.

      This was basically the Disneyland of Christmas. 

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      I bought an ornament for my mom, but she won’t know until it arrives because she only skims my blog for the photos. 😉 (Update, the ornament arrived. She loved it.) After we got our Christmas fix, we wandered the only park within the city while my roommate sipped on Glühwein. I don’t like wine, but I tried a sip. I confirm that I still don’t like wine, even when it’s hot and mixed with sugar.

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      After the park we officially parted ways, and I got lost between the alleys and houses. I say I got lost, but really that’s nearly impossible. The city is quite small, but large enough to spend a good few hours wandering without getting bored. I found my way to the border of the wall that hugs around the city, and climbed the stairs to walk around the perimeter.

      Along the way I found door, after door, after door that caught my attention. 

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      I found my way inside of a coffee shop for an afternoon pick me up, where lucky for me everyone spoke English. I would have managed fine if they hadn’t though, I know how to order a black coffee in German. I know the basics of ordering food and drinks, but everywhere I have traveled thus far someone speaks English. It’s both helpful and hindering as it doesn’t motivate me to learn more German.

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      After my coffee fix I climbed the top of the city hall tower which wasn’t very tall, but it still provided a decent panoramic view of the city. Anytime I find a tower to climb for a decent price, I climb it. There has only been one tower thus far that I said a big no to, and that was in Pisa. There was no one else at the top of the tower when I went up, so I had the entire view to myself.

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      We visited Rothenburg a week too early, because we missed their Christkindlmarkt, or Christmas Market. 

      After I climbed the tower my roommate and I met back up for lunch. We grubbed, and were gifted free water and cake because my roommate is a fan of a German soccer team that our waiter was also a fan of. I have never felt more VIP since moving to Europe. Free water?! Who are we. Despite the fact that I was just gifted free cake I couldn’t come to Rothenburg and NOT try a Schneeball….

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      Another native Rothenburg creation, this ball of crunchy dough comes in a variety of flavors. I chose chocolate because I am a creature of habit. By this time we had been in Rothenburg for about five hours, and it was almost time to move onto our next destination. Rothenburg is a perfect day trip, and five hours was a perfect amount of time to spend there.

      I don’t often buy souvenirs when I travel, mostly because I don’t like collecting things that clutter. However, if something “speaks to me” I will buy it (but not after a long debate in my brain about whether it’s practical.) When I first walked into the city I saw something in one of the windows that spoke to me, but I didn’t think it was practical.

      I spent the entire afternoon trying to decide if I should buy it, and finally decided to buy it.

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      I don’t know what the significance of the mushroom is in Rothenburg, but a few shops had mushroom items indicating some kind of theme. I can’t tell you what it was about this stuffed shroom, but when I first walked by the window with him and his friends, he immediately spoke to me. I regret nothing, and this was worth the 12 euros because every time I look at him I smile.

      This is my shroom, his name is Schmerb. 

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      All around me are familiar faces.

      Schmerb was officially along for the ride for the rest of our German road trip, and immediately became our mascot. Anytime I looked at him I laughed, and I continue to laugh anytime I look at him. He was most definitely a mental health boost. Love ya Schmerb. I’d love to return to Rothenburg someday, maybe for their Christmas market.

      A perfect start to our German road trip!

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      Q: Am I alone in laughter when looking at Schmerb? 

      brittany

      | 27 Comments Tagged Brittanys Life Abroad, German Road Trip, Germany, Rothenburg
    • BRITTANY- Self proclaimed minimalistic nomad striving to maintain a balanced, healthy life with good food, long bike rides, deep connections, exploration, and lots of cucumbers.
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